My Monster
by Dark Nemesis 7
Summary: Sakura finds an injured Gaara in the forset and takes him in. How will she keep him hidden from the villagers? Does she even want to?


"Sorry I'm late,team,but you see,I was called on the phone to tour with Evanescence because their drummer was sick,and I-"  
  
"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura said together.Their teacher's lies were getting more crazy every time. Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "What're we doing today?" he asked boredly.Kakashi's expression got serious."Ok guys,listen.This is different than what we usually do,but Tsunade decided you guys need a change.We have recieved word from the Hidden Village of Sand that there is a Missing-nin from the Wind Country headed our way.We are to make sure to drive them away from our village so that the Sand Hunter-nin can take care of the runaway.We don't know anything about the shinobi in question except that they are dangerous.The Hokage thinks you're ready for this.Think you can do it?" Everyone paused for a sec,then nodded."Well then,here are your two-way radios.Oh,and of course no helping the person,either.We are here to merely drive away the ninja,and perhaps weaken them for the Hunter-nin.If you choose to weaken them,we get paid more,so if you get the chance,do," Kakashi said,handing them the radios."Konoha is getting paid to not offer shelter to this person?" Sakura asked.Kakashi nodded."Why?" she questioned.Kakashi shrugged."It's their business.Now let's go," he said,and they marched off into the forest.  
  
Naruto immediately split up with Sasuke and Sakura.He hopped into a tree and looked around,hoping to find the best lookout spot.He decided that it would be best if he climbed to the very top of a tall tree and looked for a far distance.Into his walkie-talkie,Naruto whispered, "I'm gonna look from above the foliage so if I see them I can alert you guys,then...I will defeat him before Sasuke! Ha!"  
  
Sasuke sighed,hearing Naruto's message,and murmered,"We're not defeating the ninja, dobe.We're weakening them.There's a difference." Even though,Sasuke thought,I'm gonna beat them whether it's my buisness or not.I need a new punch dummy anyways.Instead of saying that,though, he continued with,"I'll take the ground."  
  
"And I'll take the lower treetops," Sakura said.There was a pause,then Kakashi,who had let them do this mission alone,said,"Guys,I just got some more info from Tsunade-sama.The Sand has disclosed that we're looking for a short male ninja wearing dark clothes.And no," he added, "He won't be wearing a Hunter-Nin mask to confuse us." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.'I have had enough Missing-nin in Hunter-Nin masks for a lifetime' she thought as the memory of Haku flitted through her head.  
  
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It was evening,and there was no sign of the perpetrator yet.Not one twig was out of place.Naruto sighed.And here he was,in a jacket and pants on a hot summer day.As if on cue,it started to rain.He sighed again.Now here he was in the pouring rain.  
  
Sasuke yelped and jumped under a tree.As one of a fire-using clan,he hated water,and a exceptionally large raindrop had just splashed right onto his face.Lovely.He decided to complain to Kakashi about the rain."When can we go? This is futile,and now it's raining." Kakashi simply said,"Hmm...I'll check with my superiors." For a minute,all was quiet,then,"You may go.Tsunade's sending out some other people to take over your jobs.Dismissed."  
  
Sakura sighed with relief.She could go home,where she would be alone for...5 more hours, since her parents were out until 10:00.She would be able to do whatever she wanted! She walked happily through the woods,not caring about the rain.The raindrops started to get faster and bigger,though,and she wasn't wearing a coat or anything either,so she sped up.  
  
As she hopped through the trees,she saw a flash of red on the ground a couple of trees away.Sakura stopped.Could it be the ninja? she thought.She jumped down from her tree and quietly made her way towards the red object.  
  
The red thing was indeed a person,or more specifically,their hair.A Sand headband was attached loosely around his waist,and he was wearing the traditional ninja sandals.He was wearing black torn pants slightly past his knees and an equally ragged long loose black shirt.He was sprawled out on the ground,face down in the grass with his visage in the crook his arm.His other arm was splayed out in a way that made it look like he had fallen and tried to stop his fall with only one arm.His legs were hanging limply out behind him.Sakura crouched in the mud and raised one eyebrow.He looked pretty young and weak.He certainly didn't look dangerous.In fact,he wasn't even muscular,was definitely malnutritioned and was covered in bruises and cuts.She wondered why he was on the ground,and if he was still living.She put her hand on his back timidly.It was warm,and slightly moved up and down.She could feel him taking in shallow gasps of air.Now she wondered if the Hunter-nin had gotten him yet,and what to do with him.It wasn't like she could take him into town,but it seemed like it was unfair to leave him for the other ninja to find and kill.It was starting to look like he had passed out.Sakura decided that before she did anything else,she wanted to see his face.She gently grabbed him by the shoulders and flipped him so that his face faced the rain.She gasped.The person was...Gaara?  
  
For some reason,Sakura decided that she would help him.Without thinking,she picked the unconsious boy up and concealed him with Genjutsu.Then she ran back home,glad that her parents were out.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sakura lightly dropped the redhead shinobi on the bed and felt for injuries.Nothing really big,but lots of cuts that you don't wanna get bigger.She sat back on her chair,and a't approve of her having a male missing nin around.Sakura knew that she would have to find a place to put him until she was alone again.She decided that until she could do anything more for him,she would bring him into the attic.So, putting him over her shoulders,she ran upstairs with Gaara.  
  
Looking around, Sakura surveyed the contents of her attic. It contained 3 boxes and an old velvety dark green sofa.She tested the sofa. It was plush and she sunk right into it. Smiling sardonically, she realized that that was probably why it weas there in the first place. Her parents liked to have their furniture strictly for convenience, not comfort. Everything they owned was tight and in control. The only exception from this rule was Sakura's clothes and this couch.She decided that this was probably the softest place for Gaara to rest in the whole house.  
  
With that thought in mind, she gently laid Gaara on the sofa. Sakura stared at him for a few minutes, then snapped out of her reverie when he shivered to realize that he would be cold without a blanket. Being careful of the low ceiling that just barely cleared her head and shielding her eyes from the evening glow that came from the windows, Sakura made her way downstairs and grabbed a blanket for the adolescent boy, then darted back into the attic to cover him in it. She didn't know why she was doing this for him. She just figured that since he had let her live once, she would do the same for him. Besides, it was kinda fun.  
  
Sitting on a chair that she somehow had dragged up, she let her wander to the future. What would she do when he woke up? Well, she would first explain to him where he was. She didn't think that he would kill her; after all, she had just saved his life. What would he need until he was better? There was a bathroom in the attic because her parents had used this as their bedroom when they first bought the house because their room had to be renovated, but there was no fridge, just a sink.That was good for a start,but what did people need essentially for survival? She had done it in the Academy once for Survival Skills. Remembering, Sakura silently checked off from her mental list what she had. Shelter: check (Attic.) Water: check (Faucet.) Place to relieve oneself: check (Bathroom.) Clothing: check (He's wearing his own and if worse comes to worst then she could take her dad's and hers.) Warmth: check (Blanket.) Food: Nope. Then that was what the kunoichi needed to get, she decided. Sakura would have to get some non- perishables since she didn't know if she would be there when he woke up or even when he would wake up for that matter.  
  
Once the young Haruno girl returned from her food-bringing mission she wrote a note to him, just in case he DID wake up when she wasn't there.It read:  
  
______________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
|Gaara, |  
  
| |  
  
|This is Sakura. I saved you from those Hunter-nin. I don't know why you're being hunted| |but it probably has something to do with Shukaku, doesn't it? Well, don't leave the attic or | |make too much noise because you're in no shape to fight if parents learn of your presence and | |decide to fight you. I have left some dried food for you and there is water in the sink, but | |in case you can't make it there I have left a glass beside your bed/sofa.You can probably find| |the bathroom on your own. I will come and check on you whenever I get the chance, and then we | |can talk. |  
  
|Sakura |  
  
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The kunoichi grimaced. She knew that the letter was probably horrible, but it would have to do. She laid it down by his food, just as the doorbell rang. She paled. Sakura had completely forgotten about her sleepover with Hinata.  
  
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Well, was it ok for a start? R&R! 


End file.
